This invention relates generally to a recording and/or reproducing device and, more particularly, to a recording/reproducing device that is adapted so that its magnetic head avoids collision with the disk-shaped recording medium being used when the head is driven to move to a recording/reproducing position for recording information signals on or reproducing information signals from the disk-shaped recording medium.
Conventional disk recording/reproducing devices for use with a disk cartridge containing a hard disk as the recording medium typically have a cartridge receiving section for receiving a disk cartridge, a disk rotating/operating mechanism for rotating the hard disk contained in the disk cartridge, and a magnetic head unit for recording information signals on and reproducing information signals from the hard disk as it is rotated by the disk rotating/operating mechanism. The disk cartridge has a cartridge main body for rotatably containing the hard disk, and the cartridge main body is provided at the center thereof with a clamp section. The cartridge main body has a disk drive aperture located at the center in the bottom for allowing the disk rotating/operating mechanism to enter and drive the disk and has a recording/reproducing aperture located at the front wall thereof for allowing the magnetic head to enter. The disk drive aperture and the recording/reproducing aperture are provided with a shutter member that is fitted to the cartridge main body and operated to open and close the apertures. The magnetic head unit for recording information signals on and reproducing information signals from the hard disk includes a slider to which a magnetic head element is fitted and a head support arm carrying the slider fitted to the front end thereof.
When the disk recording/reproducing device having a configuration as described above receives a disk cartridge in the cartridge receiving section, it rotates and operates the shutter member to open both the disk drive aperture and the recording/reproducing aperture of the cartridge main body. Subsequently, the disk rotating/operating mechanism enters into the cartridge main body through the disk drive, clamps the hard disk by means of the clamp section and drives the hard disk at high speed so as to result in a constant angular velocity. Then, the head support arm that carries the slider fitted at its front end enters into the cartridge main body through the recording/reproducing aperture from a stand-by position to place the slider bearing the magnetic head unit at the recording/reproducing position on the hard disk, which is being driven to rotate at high speed. At this time, the slider is floated slightly above the hard disk by the air flow produced by the hard disk that is rotating at high speed. Thereafter, the magnetic head unit records information signals on, or reproduces information signals from, the hard disk as the magnetic head element fitted to the slider is driven to move radially relative to the rotating hard disk.
The distance at which the slider is floated above the hard disk that is being driven to rotate at high speed is reduced to tens of nanometers in current high-capacity hard disks. Therefore, in disk recording/reproducing devices of the type described above, the slider is required to move smoothly onto the hard disk when moving the slider to the recording/reproducing position. If the slider happens to collide with the hard disk as it is moved to the recording/reproducing position, it can damage the hard disk and/or the magnetic head element, thereby making it no longer possible to reliably record and reproduce information signals.
In view of the above circumstances, it is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a recording/reproducing device adapted to move the slider carrying the magnetic head element fitted thereto smoothly to the recording/reproducing position on the disk-shaped recording medium without the risk of contact between the head and the disk.
According to one aspect of the present invention, the above-identified problems are overcome by providing a recording and/or reproducing device having a disk rotating/operating mechanism for rotating a disk-shaped recording medium and a magnetic head unit including a slider having a magnetic head element fitted to the front end thereof, a head support arm carrying the slider fitted to the front end thereof and urged toward the disk-shaped recording medium, a ramp member for guiding the slider from a stand-by position to a recording/reproducing position, and a drive section for driving the magnetic head element to move across the disk-shaped recording medium rotated by the disk rotating/operating mechanism between the inner periphery and the outer periphery thereof, wherein the magnetic head unit is adapted to record information signals on or reproduce information signals from the disk-shaped recording medium rotated by the disk rotating/operating mechanism. The ramp member pushes up the head support arm in a twisted state so as to make the end of the slider located upstream in the sense of rotation of the disk-shaped recording medium to face upward relative to the disk-shaped recording medium when the slider is driven to move between the stand-by position and the recording/reproducing position.